In what is believed to be the biggest data leak to date, the Pandora Papers detailing the offshore investments of hundreds of country and business leaders from around the world was released yesterday (3 October).
The 11,9-million confidential documents from at least 14 financial services companies show how some of the world’s richest and most influential people have used offshore accounts to increase wealth of avoid taxes.
It’s not illegal in most countries to have offshore accounts, so the 2,94TB of data doesn’t necessarily indicate that crimes have been committed. However, a total of about $32-trillion might have been hidden from tax authorities.
The Pandora Papers were published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), starting yesterday, and contain documents, images, emails and spreadsheets from companies as far apart as Panama, Switzerland and the UAE.
People named in the Pandora Papers include 35 current and former national leaders and 400 officials from nearly 100 countries.
In Africa, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta makes the list, as does Ghanain president Ali Bongo, Republic of the Congo president Den Sassou Nguessa and Cote d’Ivoire prime minister Patrick Achi.